Researchers conducted a prospective study to evaluate the recommendations of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Task Force (EADV TF) on contact dermatitis in healthcare workers during Covid-19 and found that healthcare workers who followed the guidelines saw an improvement in health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) and hand skin status.
The study, led by Dr. Pavel V. Chernyshov, a dermatologist in the Department of Dermatology and Venereology at the National Medical University, Kiev, Ukraine, was published online ahead of print in the journal Dermatologic Therapy (Oct. 10, 2020).
Frequency of hand disinfection and adverse skin reactions among healthcare workers has dramatically increased during Covid-19, as a result, consensus recommendations on hand hygiene were developed by the task force.
The task force’s recommendations include: the use of hydro alcoholic solutions with glycerin followed by additional regular use of a fragrance-free emollient; to protect the hands with a fragrance-free, lighter moisturizing lotion during the day after each handwashing procedure and a fragrance-free, lipid rich moisturizer before bedtime.
Researchers at the National Medical University aimed to test the efficacy of the recommendations and to investigate if providing products mentioned in the recommendations increased efficacy.
One group of participants received purifying hand gel with ethanol and glycerin
and instructions to use it regularly instead of other antiseptics. This group also received an emollient balm with instruction to apply it on the hands after each contact with water and/or before going to sleep for a month.
Another group of healthcare workers from a single hospital received only emollient balm with instructions to apply it on the hands after each contact with water and before going to sleep during for the month.
The final group of participants did not receive any products.
The prevalence of adverse skin reactions from hand disinfectants at baseline was 80.21%.
After one month, significant improvement of HRQoL and self‐assessed improvement of hand skin (p<0.01 for both) was reported in the group that received antiseptics and emollients.
The study’s authors concluded that providing healthcare workers with recommendations on hand hygiene and adverse cutaneous reactions prevention during Covid-19 may be not enough to increase their HRQoL and self-reported hand skin status assessment.
Providing healthcare workers with recommendations and the products mentioned
in the recommendations (hydro alcoholic solutions containing glycerin and a fragrance-free
emollient) may significantly improve their HRQoL and self-reported hand skin status
assessment.
“Our results show that recommendations of the EADV TF on Contact Dermatitis may significantly improve HRQoL and hand skin status in health care professionals but provision with products mentioned in that recommendations is crucial,” the authors wrote.
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